I realized this when I lost my FitBit. I was on a bike trail near my house when my FitBit fell out of my pocket. This was no fault of the device – I put it in my pocket to count steps as I rode, and ended up losing it on the side of the trail.
There wasn’t much I could do but mourn my lost fitness partner. It motivated me to get up from my desk and take extra steps.
Amazingly, a few days later FitBit let me know a Good Samaritan found my lost device and mailed it back to the company, asking if they could locate the owner – me. And they did!
But the remarkable story doesn’t end there. Fitbit began testing the watch before they sent it back and discovered it wasn’t working. It seems humidity or weather caused a problem, so FitBit provided a newly-refurbished model to me at absolutely no cost… not a single dollar!
That level of customer service caught my eye. How could CIMx make customer service a focus?
For CIMx, Customer Service starts with the sales process. Our goal is to solve problems, and not just sell software.
Many manufacturers are confused by industry-speak and fake product demonstrations offered by other suppliers. To demonstrate functionality, some suppliers show a video or use software more like a video game than a manufacturing system. They have to, because they’ll need months of service work and “configuration” to get their product to match your specifications and expectations.
The savvy prospect knows this. We often hear we are the only vendor to show a live product demonstration – planned paths and paths driven by real-time questions. We recently spent 5 hours going through product questions on a live system. The prospect told us they had never seen a live manufacturing system until that day. How many times have you seen a multi-hour software presentation built around live Q&A without a single product failure? We are proud of what our software can do.
We know manufacturing, software, MES and Paperless Manufacturing. When you work with us, you aren’t talking to just another salesperson, but an expert in the field. We spend time answering questions and educating prospects because we know how frustrating it can be working with a company so focused on the sale they only tell you what you want to hear.
To be honest, there were times in the past where we focused so much on educating we lost a sale. These days, we’re still known for our consultative approach. No, we are not consultants, but we play the role because we know manufacturing and technology so well, in addition to offering an amazing software system. Consultants are paid for their time.
We help manufacturers navigate the confusing (and potentially frustrating) process. We help them understand what they really need, and how to avoid pitfalls that could destroy any potential ROI or benefit of a system.
We also guarantee both our products AND our services. Let me say that again. We provide insurance for you that what you buy is what you get. We were the first and still the only company I know in our industry that even comes close to this offer. When we put a proposal together, we stand behind it. We will deliver on-time 100% of the time. We will deliver 100% of what we promise.
To me, that’s the core of exceptional customer service. When you purchase a product, you are investing resources and taking on risk the product may fail, or not meet your needs. Without offering a guarantee like that, the supplier is putting all the risk on you. They are being a salesperson and not a partner.
In my mind, FitBit embodies this concept of customer service. They promised to be my partner in physical fitness. And in helping me even when I failed (and lost my Fitbit), they went above and beyond in that promise. They helped me even when I couldn’t help myself.
I’ll be a FitBit customer for life.
Being a partner in manufacturing and technology is our goal with every customer and prospect interaction, helping create CIMx customers for life.